Sep 8 2006
The International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) has awarded the 2005 Hans-Jürgen Engell Prize to Dev Chidambaram, a scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, in recognition of his excellent scientific work and publications in the field of electrochemistry. The ISE is a professional organization for electrochemists, with 1,400 members from more than 60 countries. Chidambaram received his prize, consisting of a plaque and 500 euros, at the organization’s 2006 annual meeting, held recently in Edinburgh, Scotland. Chidambaram delivered a keynote lecture on September 1, 2006.
Chidambaram’s research focuses on protecting metals from corrosion and remediating toxic metals and radionuclides in the environment. He said, “My research is challenging and rewarding, and I am honored that the ISE has recognized my efforts.”
In a project funded by the U.S. Air Force, Chidambaram found that molybdenum may be a viable replacement for chromate coatings, which are used to coat metals to prevent corrosion but are carcinogenic. Later, this result was used as a starting point for a program funded by the U.S. Army.,Chidambaram, working with Don Roeper, Gary Halada and Clive Clayton from Stony Brook University, has developed a new molybdate-based coating to prevent the deterioration of depleted uranium. The coating is anti-corrosive and prevents the material from forming toxic flakes and powder. Both programs extensively used the analytical techniques at Brookhaven’s National Synchrotron Light Source to study the materials.
Also, with his mentor, Brookhaven microbiologist A.J. Francis, Chidambaram has been investigating the fundamental nature of electron transfer reactions in biomolecules and those reactions mediated by microorganisms and their application in stabilizing toxic contaminants such as metals and radionuclides.
A native of India, Dev Chidambaram earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical/electrochemical engineering from the Central Electrochemical Research Institute in India in 1998. He came to the U.S. to attend Stony Brook University, where he earned master’s degrees in both materials science and biomedical engineering in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and a doctorate in materials science and engineering in 2003.
Chidambaram joined Brookhaven Lab in 2004 as a Goldhaber Distinguished Fellow, a prestigious fellowship named after two distinguished Brookhaven Lab physicists, the late Gertrude Goldhaber and former Laboratory Director Maurice Goldhaber. The recipient of numerous research awards, Chidambaram also won the 2005 Morris Cohen Award from the Electrochemical Society, as well as awards from Signa Xi, the New York Society for Applied Spectroscopy, the American Vacuum Society, and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. Recently, he was chosen by the Nobel Laureates Foundation to participate in the 55th meeting of the Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany. Chidambaram is also an adjunct professor of materials science and engineering at Stony Brook University.
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